Member Reference Group and Funders Group

Kimberly is the Executive Director of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), which represents dairy manufacturing and exporting companies on public policy matters of common interest, including trade policy, food regulation, and biosecurity. DCANZ’s members account for 98% of the milk processed in New Zealand. Kimberly has spent the last 20 years working for primary industries holding senior policy and advocacy roles for DairyNZ and Fonterra.

Kimberly also sits on the Governance Group for the Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity Readiness and Response and is a member of the International Dairy Federation standing committee on policy and economics.

Kimberly is the chair of the Pledge Members Reference Group and Funders Group.

Debbie has a long career working as a consultant working with senior leaders in the public and private sectors providing strategic guidance and advice.

In the past couple of years she led an independent review for the Ministry of Defence, Predator Free New Zealand and Biosecurity New Zealand. It was in working with Biosecurity New Zealand that she was tasked to look at what actions members are taking on their commitments and identify any gaps in practice or what was needed to be addressed to deliver greater impact. She found that despite the challenges delivered by Covid-19, the Pledge is delivering on its intent, demonstrating value to members and strengthening practice. Among her recommendations she proposed resource be committed to ensure momentum was held as the programme continues to grow. She didn’t know at the time that she would later be asked to take on the Executive Director role.

Debbie has a long association with environmental causes to help protect NZ’s unique biodiversity having launched The Aotearoa Circle, a private-public environmental partnership, following a period running the Office of the Chief Executive for the Ministry for the Environment. She also headed the nationally recognisable non-profit, Project Crimson Trust for five years.

Rosemarie Dawson is Chief Executive of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of NZ Inc, a role she has held for a number of years. Her role includes advocacy and representation of the international freight logistics industry in many different forum, with Government, shipping lines, airlines, ports and other groups in the domestic and international supply chain. Rosemarie has extensive experience in management and working in the not-for-profit sector.

Rosemarie was a member of the Biosecurity 2025 Steering Group and is excited that the Biosecurity Business Pledge is a tangible outcome that business is able to engage with and derive measurable benefit.

Leanne is the Chief Executive at Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH). Biosecurity within the management of New Zealand’s phytosanitary system and at the international level has been both Leanne’s passion and employment. She has worked for Horticulture New Zealand, MPI and the International Plant Protection Convention to reduce the spread of plant pests and diseases around the world.

Leanne sits on a number of governance and working groups as well as the Better Border Biosecurity (B3) Collaboration Council which coordinates biosecurity research across New Zealand’s crown research institutes.

Jo is the Team Manager, Engagement Programmes in Biosecurity New Zealand’s Readiness & Response Directorate. She is responsible for a range of collaborative biosecurity programmes including the regional biosecurity collaborations, Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital and a new initiative in Taranaki, and the Biosecurity Business Pledge. She also leads a team of behaviour change, communication and marketing specialists supporting long-term pest management programmes.  

Prior to this role Jo was MPIs senior engagement advisor for the Biosecurity Ko Tātou This Is Us programme, leading the biosecurity engagement programmes. In this role she developed strategic events including the NZ Biosecurity Awards programme.

Prior to joining MPI, Jo was the Director of Conventions and Events at Wellington Venues, where she led a strategy and team to turn business events into a commercially successful sales model and to make Wellington region wildly famous as a place to host events and grow the region’s economy. Prior to this Jo worked at the communications consultancy agency Acumen as the Group Account Director responsible for leading their national events team.

Sirma is the Chief Executive of the Meat Industry Association (MIA) which represents red meat processors, marketers and exporters. The MIA provides a collective voice for the red meat industry interfacing between industry and government across a range of issues including policy formation on economic, trade, market access, biosecurity, industrial relations, compliance costs, environmental and animal welfare matters.

Sirma has an extensive knowledge of government processes and trade policy along with significant trade negotiations experience. She has represented New Zealand at international organisations including the World Trade Organisation and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Flying has been in Shaun Sie’s blood since he was young, leading him to pursue education and a career in aviation. He holds a Masters in Aviation, Aviation Management and has been with Auckland Airport for almost ten years. Shaun started with the airport as an Airport Operations Officer and is now the airport’s Regulatory Assurance Manager.

He is an experienced operational compliance manager with capabilities in implementing practical quality assurance, quality control and regulatory compliance initiatives that improve operational effectiveness and efficiencies. He has established a strong regulatory compliance culture within the airport’s operations. Raising awareness of biosecurity risks and obligations with the wider airport community is a key part of Shaun’s role as Auckland Airport’s PoFA (Place of First Arrival) Operator.

Terry is the Chief Executive of Federated Farmers responsible for 60 staff, across 10 offices who provide the delivery of advocacy and policy development on behalf of farmers. He and the team are also responsible for continuing the development of the benefits of membership for 13,000 Federated Farmers members, and for influencing rural leadership and community resilience.

Previously he was Chief Executive of New Zealand Young Farmers and he spent more than two decades in the wine industry working on wine quality improvement and developing key export markets.

Eve leads the biosecurity function for Horticulture New Zealand, where her role is to proactively influence policy to ensure that New Zealand's biosecurity system is both robust and workable. Commercial fruit and vegetable growers consistently list biosecurity as one of their top concerns. Horticulture New Zealand works to make sure that the biosecurity system provides the protection growers require from exotic pests and diseases, and that the growers are aware of the biosecurity regulations, requirements and best practices applicable to their crops.

Eve's a trained veterinarian specialising in infectious disease research and control. She's been applying those skills across the biosecurity system for the last decade having previously led work in MPI's biosecurity response, surveillance and incursion investigation, and intelligence teams. She enjoys pulling together science and policy to find collective solutions to complex problems and then translating those solutions to the people who need to know from growers to government decision makers.

Sue is the Program Lead – Animals, On Farm Excellence, responsible for providing direction and advice on Fonterra biosecurity policy and standards. Sue oversees the identification of risks to the business strategy that originates from the on-farm space, from food safety to animal wellbeing, and biosecurity.

She supports the Fonterra Incident Management Team (IMT) and framework as a process lead, ensuring that disruptions to the business are managed at the most appropriate level of response and facilitating a return to regular operations as quickly as possible.

Sue has worked with the wider production animal sector and government supporting readiness and response planning for foot and mouth disease over the last 9 years.

Gary is General Manager Food Quality, Environment and Assurance at Silver Fern Farms. He leads a team of specialists responsible for food safety and quality, technical compliance, market access, policy and regulation, quality systems and environmental management.

Gary has a Bachelor of Technology (biotechnology) and a Master in Business Administration from Massey University. He has held a number of leadership roles within the industry including technical, industrial relations, health and safety and general management. Gary has also been also a trustee for the Meat Industry Superannuation scheme since 2006.

Steve is Customs Manager for Oceanbridge Shipping Limited, a privately-owned New Zealand business specialising in international movement of cargo by air and sea, to and from New Zealand and Australia. Oceanbridge is based in nine sites in both countries plus has agency relationships in most other countries around the world.

Steve has been with Oceanbridge Shipping for more than 25 years, with over 40 years in the industry. His experience spans international logistics, customs practices and regulations and supply chain management. Steve and his team of 15 are at the forefront of all regulatory information relating to free trade agreements, tariff changes and concessions. He sees his role as an educator and advisor, keeping clients up to date and informed while also acting in an advocacy capacity.

Yang is the Strategy and Development Manager – Supply Chain at Foodstuffs North Island Limited. His team is responsible for the end-to-end supply chain optimisation. He is a passionate supply chain leader and has experience in driving significant transformation across retail, FMCG and the dairy industry.

Yang’s skills span supply chain management, logistics operations management, regulatory compliance, end-to-end network design and optimisation as well as enterprise risk and incident management. He holds a postgraduate diploma in supply chain management.

Angela is FMG’s Advice Services Manager, supporting clients to prevent disruption to their lives and livelihoods. For over a decade, Angela has supported farmers and growers to understand their risk inside and outside the farm gate.  With an interest in technology, biosecurity, and disaster management, connecting ideas and people to provide the space and resources they need to do what they love most best sums up why she has chosen agriculture as a career and lifestyle.

Lucy is a Biosecurity Advisor with SPS Biota. SPS Biota undertakes work in two different areas, as a Biosecurity Partner with the Ministry for Primary Industries providing Accredited Person and Transitional Facility Operator training and helping Transitional Facilities understand their role in the biosecurity system, and as surveillance experts, designing, managing, and implementing pest management programmes. Lucy joined SPS in 2021 and works across both of these programs, which has helped her gain an appreciation and understanding of the New Zealand Biosecurity system.

Prior to working for SPS, Lucy worked for many years in biosecurity in Australia, both for government and not-for-profit. She brings with her a varied background, an enthusiasm for getting involved and spreading biosecurity information, and passion for keeping exotic pests and diseases out of New Zealand.

Janti is the director of Xcelerate International, an importing and exporting company. The company imports food products from Southeast Asia and the Pacific to supply restaurants and supermarkets in New Zealand. She works closely with foreign exporters, manufacturers and freight forwarders to ensure that New Zealand biosecurity requirements are met.

Prior to importing food products, Janti worked for several years on sustainable development projects in Asia and the Pacific. She has a passion for sharing knowledge about biosecurity along the supply chain, for a better environment, business, and society. She expects that her bilingual skills, and understanding of foreign countries’ operations and regulation can promote New Zealand biosecurity standards and closer economic linkage between countries, through importing and exporting.